Workout with Jeannie D

Summer is here and we all know that means one thing: get fit – and fast! This month I show you a few exclusive, killer slim-down secrets from Jeannie D and her personal trainer, Johno Meintjes from Transfit. These should help you get rid of that winter weight and have a sexy little figure that every girl wants

Story Natalie Brownlie-Protoulis, Photos Angie Lázaro and supplied

Jeannie D is looking sexier then ever and I met up with her at her gym, Transfit Ultimate Fitness Conditioning, along with her personal trainer, Johno Meintjes, to get the scoop on her diet and workout routine.

First up I asked Jeannie what had been her biggest challenge and lesson learned through her journey of fitness with Johno. 'There’s no quick fixes! Crash diets don’t work!' she laughed. 'It’s about consistency and discipline – if you skip gym for two weeks you can’t maintain a good body. It’s about maintaining a healthy lifestyle.'

So what keeps Jeannie D motivated for a healthy lifestyle? 'If you look good you feel good!' she replied. 'I eat very healthily – eggs on wheat-free rye bread for breakfast, and I snack on protein bars, nuts, fruit or biltong! Lunch and dinner ranges from sushi to grilled chicken and rice, fish and veggies to big healthy salads.' Jeannie follows a diet set for her by Johno, but she admits that she loves her carbs and eats them in moderation.

After watching Johno putting her through a full workout, I quizzed Jeannie on how she's achieved such great results. 'I love training. I’d say the explosive jumps are my favourite because it’s challenging and you see results almost instantaneously!'

And which exercise has she found to be the most effective? 'There’s not one exercise that can change your body… that’s why I have a trainer! It's a culmination of many different actions and movements that make the difference. My legs and butt are my target zones, as my tummy and core have always been strong from many years of doing yoga… but there’s nothing better than firm, slim legs in the summer!' Read on for Johno's explanation of each of Jeannie's exercises.

1. TRX SIDE SQUAT TO CURL USING A FLEXI-BAR EXTENSION

The whole object of the exercise is to be movement and body-weight orientated. The movement is basically a low side-squat followed by a bicep curl to pull yourself up into a vertical position again. In this exercise we use the lower-body extremities (such as your quadriceps, gluteus maximus and hamstrings), and the upper body where a major focus is placed on the biceps, shoulders and back muscles working together. The Flexi-Bar is added to help with engaging the core muscles, which need to be exceptionally strong with the dynamic types of exercises that Jeannie needs to do. I tend to work to a time frame (instead of repetitions) for durations such as 60 seconds, 90 seconds and then shorter bursts of 30 seconds, depending on how challenging the week would be in terms of intensity. Recovery times are extremely short and the intensity levels are extremely high. We would do a minimum of three sets of each time frame on each arm, which should provide severe fatigue.'

2. TRX TO KETTLE BELL PUSH

This is also a pretty advanced movement whereby we incorporate a kettle bell for a push and pull movement along with the TRX. This time the pull on the TRX is a front-on movement and the push is a forward push with the kettle bell. As the movement is from the floor up, we are again incorporating a full-body movement, which is what we are trying to achieve. Again, we will be working according to a time frame (instead of repetitions) for durations such as 60 seconds, 90 seconds and then shorter bursts of 30 seconds, depending on how challenging the week would be in terms of intensity. Recovery times are extremely short and the intensity levels are extremely high. We would do a minimum of three sets of each time frame on each arm, which should provide severe fatigue.

3. BLOCK OR BOSUBALL PUSHFor this exercise we use a rectang-ular 20-kilogram block which is pushed along a carpeted area. This is a very taxing exercise as the block is extremely heavy – so for people at home I would suggest the same movement but pushing a Bosu ball along the ground as it does not provide the same resistance. The muscle groups we are looking to target here are the gluteus, quadriceps and hamstrings and (more importantly) to get them moving together under extreme pressure. This endurance-based workout will firm up these areas with unbelievable results and serves as a great fat burner. We would do three sets of two-minute intervals along a 20-metre area, with a 30-second break in-between. We would follow this up with 10 20-metre push sprints, with a 10-second break in-between to finish.

4. BOX JUMPS

This is the explosive jumping action beginning from a floor base onto various size boxes. Jeannie has responded very well to explosive work when her legs have been fatigued from, say, the block push – so I will tend to do this exercise with her after I have fatigued her. The time-split will work in a pyramid fashion from two minutes to 90 seconds, then to a minute and then to 30 seconds. There will be a slightly longer 45-second recovery as the intensity is extremely high and cardiovascular based, so we need a short time for the heart-rate to level off. We adapt the exercise by jumping onto various heights simultaneously to promote different muscle contraction.

5. LUNGE TO PUSH ON THE HUBER

The Huber is an extremely functional core-stability-based machine which works on a rotating plate to promote core-stability. We do a number of functional exercises on the Huber but an extremely functional one which Jeannie has responded to is the static lunge-to-plate push on the Huber. The whole aim is to hold a static lunge while pressing a 5-10kg plate out in a pushing action. As the plate is rotating it will cause the individual to stabilise their core to hold the lunge position. Breathing is very important while doing this exercise, so make sure you are exhaling on the push. There are very few Hubers in the country, so an alternative would be to perform the same exercise while standing on two Bosu balls. The time frame would be three sets of one minute on each front leg.

Jeannie D's slim-down gym plan 1 hour 3-times a week

MONDAY:

TUESDAY:

WEDNESDAY:

Warm-up Run on the treadmill at a high intensity10-12 mins

Strength training Allow little to no recovery time between sets. These exercises are for the whole body, focusing especially on the major muscle groups25-30 mins

CARDIO High cardio treadmill or cycling with different intervals of high speeds and recovery times. Intervals of 45 seconds with 10-second recovery time10-12 mins

BODY MOVEMENT Abs and stretching 10-15 mins

Warm-up Run on the treadmill at a high intensity10-12 mins

Strength training Plyometric work that includes the pushing of the block or Bosu ball and box jumping, for example (See workouts No 3 + 4)35-40 mins

CARDIO High cardio running on the treadmill10-12 mins

BODY MOVEMENT Abdominal work6-8mins

Warm-up Run on the treadmill at a high intensityin-between some core exercises10-12 mins